Founded in 1926 by Chan Hinky, the first Polar Café opened its doors at 51 High Street. Charting its growth along with Singapore, the Café weathered the World War II, thrived through the aftermath and continued to grow as our country modernized and prospered.
In 1986, Polar Café moved to its new premises at Raffles Place, accompanied with the opening of a factory at Leng Kee Road. A decade later, continual growth led to the addition of several outlets. The company has since been renamed Polar Puffs & Cakes. In 1998, due to the increased demand, the production facility was moved to a larger site in Woodlands.

Today, Polar Puffs & Cakes is a familiar and well-loved presence in food-appreciating Singapore, with a wide local network of 30 outlets and bistros, along with over 80 expanding distribution through petrol stations and convenience stores.

Having proven the success of our products, we are now looking into exporting and franchise opportunities.

Why “Puff” and not “Pok”?
The famous Polar Puffs is believed to be the first truly baked curry puff in Singapore.

When Polar founder, Mr Chan Hinky, took a spicy chicken curry filling and wrapped it in his special pastry dough, it resulted in a delicious buttery and flaky puff that won the hearts of many in the old Malaya and modern Singapore.

It looked nothing like the epok epok, a Malay snack that many of the local curry poks are modelled after; rather it is the oldest baked curry puff pastry with an unchanged recipe since 1926. And so, our signature Polar Curry Puff is born, and still delighting millions.

June 2012

bizSafe Award

This certificate reflects Polar’s belief that workplace safety and health (WSH) with a WSH management system is conducive for a productive and competitive business.

Dec 2009

Singapore Service Star Award

Polar Puffs & Cakes was awarded the Singapore Service Star, which recognizes us as providing excellent service to all our customers, both locals and tourists alike. The Singapore Service Star is an accreditation scheme that seeks to recognize and promote businesses that deliver good service and exhibit sound business practices. Developed by STB, this scheme is designed to enhance tourists’ confidence when transacting in Singapore and deliver a truly unique experience for visitors.

Sept 2009

Tasty® Singapore Brand Ambassador

Polar Puffs & Cakes became a Tasty® Singapore Brand Ambassador that is committed to delivering quality food services to enhance Singapore’s reputation as a global food player, and has initiated successful branding and marketing strategies for the company and products. Tasty® Singapore is an initiative of International Enterprise Singapore, in collaboration with the Restaurant Association of Singapore, Singapore Food Manufacturers Association and the Singapore Manufacturers Federation, and supported by SPRING Singapore.

2009

Achieved Superbrands 2009 status

Feb 2009

Opening of the first Polar High Street 1926 bistro at HDB Hub

Jan 2009

Polar becomes HACCP certified

July 2008

Polar certified as WSQ Approved Training Organization by WDA

The in-house training capabilities had helped to train, assess and develop staff to upgrade their skills and knowledge

2006

Achieved Superbrands 2006 status

Superbrands status was achieved due to the high quality, trust and good reputation that were consistently delivered to the consumers by the brand. This also signifies Polar Puffs & Cakes to be one of Singapore’s strongest and most valued brands by consumers, leading to customer loyalty and brand affinity.

2005

SPBA- Heritage Brands

This award was conferred to brands established more than 30 years

2005

Singapore Promising Brand Award

Polar Puffs & Cakes achieved Singapore Promising Brand Award through its outstanding efforts in promoting the brand name. SPBA recognizes and honours Singapore brands that have developed and managed their brands effectively through various branding initiatives. SPBA is jointly organized by the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises and LianHe ZaoBao.

2005

Polar's Curry Puffs voted "Still the best!" by the editorial team of Simply Her Magazine

Dec 2005

Polar and New Hope Industries factories became Certified as On-The-Job Training Centres (COJTC) under Institute of Technical Education, Singapore

Being the Approved Training Organization (ATO) to conduct Workforce Skill Qualifications (WSQ) courses recognized by the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) enables more opportunities for staff to upgrade and advance in their careers with the company.

Aug 2005

New Hope Industry Pte Ltd became ISO 9001:2001 certified

Dec 2004

New Hope Industry Pte Ltd became HACCP certified

Feb 2004

New Hope Industry Pte Ltd became Halal certified

2004

Set up of New Hope Industry Pte Ltd

In collaboration with Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises (SCORE), New Hope Industry Pte Ltd was set up to create an additional production facility while providing the inmates with employment opportunities.

The government acquired 51 High Street to make way for the new Parliament House.

1926

Opening of the first Polar Café by founder Chan Hinky

Rebranding Exercise – Jun 2008

Polar Puffs & Cakes is widely known and cherished for our hot pastries and tasty cakes. Our good reputation has been steadily built since the time our first store was opened before the war. We enjoy strong relationships with our customers, especially those people who grew up with
Polar and thus there is an emotional attachment to our brand. For them, many fond memories can be linked back to Polar.
While we still treasure the patronage of this group of customers, we find that it is timely to look further into the future.
That brings us to the need for a more updated image for Polar, one that is more contemporary and relevant to the youth of today. This is why we have overhauled our image through a brand enhancement exercise.

Catch us with our fresh new look today!

Accreditations

January 2009

Polar becomes HACCP certified

July 2006

Polar head office becomes OJT certified

Polar strives to provide upgrading opportunities for its retail staff through its certified in-house courses.

December 2005

Polar and New Hope Industries factories becomes OJT certified

Polar becomes the Approved Training Organization (ATO) to conduct Workforce Skill Qualifications (WSQ) courses recognized by the Workforce Development Agency (WDA). These courses help to strengthen skill-based training for employees in the factories.

May 2001

Polar becomes Halal certified

This mark of assurance enables Polar to spread love and joy to all communities in Singapore.

Corporate Video 2010

coming soon

June 2009

Collaboration with KK hospital in conjunction with Father’s Day

$0.50 of every Iced White Coffee purchased was donated to KK Health Endowment Fund. Donation boxes were also placed at every Polar outlet to help raise funds.

February 2009

Collaboration with Singapore Central CDC

Raised funds from corporate partners for the Temporary Relief Scheme.

Aug 2008

Collaboration with SouthWest CDC in conjunction with National Day

$0.10 of every Sugar Roll and Curry Puff purchased was donated to Rice for Needy Families Programme. SouthWest CDC matched the total amount contributed.

July 2008

Collaboration with Tan Tock Seng Hospital in conjunction with the opening of Polar outlet at Square 2

50% discount was given for every item sold on the grand opening day of Square 2 Polar outlet, and the day’s sales was contributed to TTSH Community Charity Fund’s Diabetes Care Programme.